Is this the right way?

Polis: Encik, tadi u tak ada nampak lampu merah kah?

Driver: Ada!

Polis: Kenapa u masih jalan?

Driver: Saya ada nampak lampu merah, tapi saya tak ada nampak u……

Polis: !@#$%^&*()

Driver: Bagi chance lah..tuan..

Polis: Chance bagi dgn macam mana??

Driver: bagilah chance..

Polis: ya.. dgn macam mana??

Driver: biasa looo..

Polis: macam mana biasa..???

Driver: wei.. u pura pura ke atau hilang ingatan ar..

Polis: ape u maksud??

Driver: haizz.. u memang sedang bazirkan masa saya ..bagi saman...CEPATTTT...

Polis: saman RM200 o.. fikir baik baik ...

Driver: wei.. u tak faham maksud saya ka.. suruh u bagi then jus bagi la..
apasal mau cakap banyak... u punya head suruh u mari sini chating
ar?? mau saman then cepat sikit.. hanya tahu bazir masa saya..
saya sanggup bayar saman ini pun tak akan bagi u minum .. biar u dahaga

Polis: )*&@&%$#(_!+%!&%)

Breaking the mental barrier

In whatever I do, I always tried to do things out of my comfort zone to achieve better results. Breaking the mental barrier is also another strategy when it comes to challenging myself. So today is no difference. I have decided the week before that I will run a 33k LSD today or at least stay on the road for 3.5hrs to break the mental barrier. This will definitely help me to push the wall further away from me during race day in the Singapore Marathon 2006.

33k I ran staying on the road for 3hrs42mins (plus stop time). And running under a very warm condition with the sun shining on me for the last 13k that I ran. Very good conditioning for me and I really push my body and break the mental barrier to carry on.

Fook and Grace were my running partners today, and I must said this two young rookies had very good potential to be long distance runners. All they need is more experience in running more races. Stay on the road they did together with me and no hesitation to follow me in breaking the mental barrier. And we have agreed to do it together in the Singapore Marathon trying to achieve a sub5 finishing. Both of them will be attempting their maiden marathon in Singapore.

Do U run away from problems?

This is exactly what happened to this Zakaria Mat Deros dude (dont know whether there is any relation to Mat Rempit) the so call Port Klang assemblyman who defy anything from not paying assessment for 12 years to illegally buliding a posh Istana in a low cost housing area with no authority approval.

This ZMD dude got summoned by the Sultan Selangor (who got so angry with his makeover) to explain to His Majesty what is he trying to do especially in the royal town of his. But he snubbed the Sultan for not turning up but giving an excuse that he need to be admitted to the hospital for whatever reason (nobody knows) and discharge himself that same afternoon.....reported by The Sun today.

ZMD had no guts or b*lls to face the truth of what he had done. A bloody lame excuses of going to the hospital and running away from problems. As usual our beloved PM just ticked ZMD off but not excuting the last blow in taking him out. But he left it to Khir Toyo to do it saying that it is the rakyat that voted him, let the MB of Selangor to deal with it. What can the MB do since he was also on the advertising billboard scandal in Selangor. Alamak, Pak Lah is at it again...only ticked people off, no action after that.

Well letz pray that the Sultan of Selangor will be able to eradicate all these Sampah aka Rubbish because they are spending the rakyat taxes money. Worst still is this ZMD dude is running away from problems... what a shame, dare to do it but dare not face the music. What a WIMP (weakly interacting massive particles)

Birthday LSD 20k

A group of Pacemakers organised a birthday LSD 20k run for our birthday boy Dr Jamie Pang which celebrated his big day today. It was quite an easy run thru the normal Lake Garden/Sri Hartamas Petronas/Lake Garden route.

For more details, story #1, story #2

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri to all Muslim frens.....

Saucony Fastwitch 2 Speed

Tester:
Chen Keat Hoong

Profile:
40min - 10k racer
Sub 1:40 - 21k runner
Sub 3:45 - 42k runner

Shoe: Saucony Fastwitch 2 Speed

More information of Saucony Fastwitch 2 Speed, click here

Test report will be out once the tester had complete his 2nd test run with the shoe.

Some inspirational words that can be found at the base of the shoe:

running is a way of life.....
a commitment to yourself.....
judged only by you.....

How long can you run?

Today's run was more of getting myself to stay on the road as long as I can. This is to ensure that I can still run comfortably after the number of hours pounding the tarmac. The run started of at about 0610 from the usual place in Bukit Aman carpark at Lake Garden with Tey, Jason, Phyllis, DK, Geraldine, Eugene, Fook and Grace (which I met the first time), and not forgetting myself.

After the usual Sri Hartamas/Petronas loop, both Fook, Grace and myself did a detour at the Bank Negara junction and decided to run a different route back to the carpark. We ran towards the Istana junction, pass Tugu Negara and ended the first part of the training run in about 2hrs 35 mins.

Grace complained that her feet was hurting so she decided not to follow us for our second part of the run. This time Geraldine joined Fook and myself to run the Carcosa route but instead on running thru the deer park, we ran all the way down the highway. Reached the Masjid Negara junction and turn left, ran past the Islamic Musuem and ended at the carpark. This part of the run took us about 36mins.

All in all the total time both Fook and myself stayed on running was about 3hrs 10mins. I still feel OK but a slight tiredness after the run, but I believe I shud be able to hang on there for another 30mins to 40mins comfortably. After that its all about how strong I am mentally to take me to the finishing line under 5hrs in this year Singapore Marathon.

Note: Fook and Grace - both of you are very strong runners given the short timeframe that you have started running long distance. We need to do one LSD before Singapore Marathon that make us stay on the road for 3hr 30mins to break the mental barrier.

Happy Deepavali

Wishing all Indian frens................


* * * Happy Deepavali * * *

We Swear !@#$%&*+

We swear at:

- what the Indonesian govt are doing to curb opening burning
- what the local govt have done about the haze...dont they care!!!!
- the API readings are totally wrong
- the unethical drivers on the road especially Q jumping
- at drivers who overtake from the left
- outlets which have bad customer service and does not admit their mistake
- the Consumer Association why consumers like us are not protected
- closure of highways bcos of cracks
- why the city of KL are still having problems in dealing with flood
- unethical housing developer that chop down trees
- people who causes all the landslides
- why the LRT trains halt and take 10hrs to resume service
- the Mak Rempit for causing trouble and creating social issues
- the Boh Sia but they are no where to be seen now
- those people who are cruel to animals

What else do we swear at.....many more !!!!

Your last long run

This maybe something that season runners know what to do, but for rookies I believe this come in very handy especially for those training for their maiden marathon in Singapore.

This is an article extracted out from - The Running Times: Training Newsletter Oct 2006

Training Tip of the Month - Your last long run
While marathon training is a foundation made of many bricks, the keystone workout, physically and mentally, is your last long run. Most coaches agree that ideally it should be three weeks out from the race, or, at the closest, two weeks out. Depending on your training plan, it ranges in length from 18 to 26 miles (28k to 41k), although the vast majority of coaches cap the long runs at 22 miles (35k). As for speed, you'll also find numerous opinions, ranging from an easy, conversational pace to the full distance at race pace. Among top coaches I've interviewed or read, a progression run strategy seems to be the most widely held, and the most reasonable method of accomplishing the goals of both getting in the distance without undue stress and simulating race pace when fatigued. This method begins at a comfortable pace, approximately 20% slower than race pace, and gradually increases during the second half to either race pace or just under (approximately 10% slower than race pace) during the last five miles. The last long run should leave you confident that you can accomplish your goal. Now comes the hardest part of training mentally: the taper, as you cut back to let your body build for the big day.
- Jonathan Beverly, Editor

A good 27k

This morning LSD is suppose to be a longer run than the usual 20k or 21k. The day started of a bit hazy but I am definitely not disturb by the condition. I have in mind to do at least 25k for my first long run. Although hazy, the weather is very cooling, just ideal for a long run.

Reached Lake Gardens carpark and there was Eugene and Gerry waiting. Wong sifu is no where to be seen, since he had mentioned that if he cannot fix his wife car then he wont be showing up. Looks like the car is still giving him some problem. Later join by Lynn. Tey - PM22, came over to greet us and said that his group will start first. Off they go and we also take off later.

Along the run, the morning is very cooling although the haze is still there. Well, no worries and we gallop on. Eugene was running stronger today, at least his knee is not disturbing the run. Well rested as he said.

We completed the 21k run and back to the carpark. I refuel myself and since I still feel good and fresh, I decided to take on the Carcosa route, via the deer park and back to the carpark from the Islamic Museum. Meet Tey after completing the run and asked him what is the distance of the Carcosa route, and he said its about 6km. Well thats a nice distance (21k + 6K). A good 27k run and I am still fresh. I was contemplating to do a 30k since I know my body can take it but I thought since this is the first long run, I will not push myself too hard.

Well another long run, another week gone, and a shopping trip towards the later part of the day......

Are u loyal?

Are you always loyal to one brand of running shoes? Or do you try every other brand and still didnt find one that suits your feet and biomechanics. Or maybe you are loyal to one brand because your favorite sports idol is the ambassador of that brand. You dont care whether the shoe is up to the performance you wanted and most importantly value for money. You just pay irregardless of how much it cost, just because you are swear by the brand. On the other hand there are people that I know of that select different brands for different running occasion ie one for shorter distance racing, one for long distance competition and one for training.

These are some incidents that we probably can find in the running communities. I believed there are no right or wrong answer to it but its more of a personal preference. It is also very true that a high performance high rating shoe may fit in very well to one individual but turns out totally the opposite for another runner. And therefore in whatever brands that we can find in the market today, I think there is no one brand that is more superior than another brand. The key difference is the power of throwing the marketing dollars to get mindshare and awareness. The bigger marketing dollar one splash out, the more eye ball attention they will get. And then eventually the consumers are the ones made to pay on behalf of them because these big boys have to fork out hugh sums and pay sponsorships money to their so call megastars or ambassdors.

So think twice when you go out and purchase your next pair of rubber trainers. And asked yourself whether what you are paying is value for money. Good luck in your next purchase.......

To run or not to run

For the past 1-2 weeks, I believed we have been asking whether we shud expose ourselves and run in those hazy condition. This Q never arises until the recent haze attack in our country, bcos rain or shine the diehard runners will still go out and clock their mileage.

For me, the haze doesnt affect me much and therefore I have attempted a few runs during the weekdays and LSD over the weekends. Maybe not now. Hopefully there is no side effect later. I noticed that the condition in morning is not as bad compare to the afternoons and evenings, and most of the time I do my runs in the mornings even on weekdays before going to work. Rather than exposing myself too much to the haze, I just run on alternate days. The LSD on Saturdays are a must, at least to clock certain mileage and tune my body up, and to be ready for my next marathon in Singapore.

And how long more do we need to ask ourselves this Q
"To Run Or Not To Run?"

State of Malaysia Football

Soon after the June’s World Cup was over, 3 country asked God when will they ever win the World Cup.

It goes like this: “A Korean asked God when will Korea win the World Cup. God replied, in 100 years. The Korean cried as he would not be able to see that happening in his life time. Then a Japanese asked God the same question. When God said in 200 years, the Japanese cried as he would not be able to witness it in his life time. Finally, A Malaysian asked God when will Malaysia win the World Cup. This time, God cried!”

For a moment, we will smile or even laugh at that joke. I take my hat off to whoever came up with that. It’s healthy that we, Malaysians, are able to laugh at ourselves sometimes. Or at the standard of our football, to be precise.

Have a great week ahead.....

Alan Tam "30 Glorious Years" Concert

Yesterday 07 Oct, 2006 - The sky suddenly clears up towards afternoon around 3pm with bright sunshine. Not a stain of haze that you can find. To me this is definitely perfect and praying that it will continue to stay that way towards the nite.

Yes, thats the nite I am on a family outing to attend the Alan Tam "30 Glorious Years" concert at Stadium Nasional, Bukit Jalil. I have been a fan of Alan Tam since young (partly influenced by my dad). Although I hardly read Chinese character, he is one of the Four Heavenly King of Canto Pop during the 80s and 90s that I really admired and still is. Also partly because I enjoy the songs of The Wynners where Alan Tam and Kenny Bee used to be part of the band during the 70s and 80s. That tells you how old am I ~ a veteran.

Attending a concert have been a thing of the past for me. Gone are the days I am a concerts goer attending shows by Richard Marx, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Michael Learns2Rock, Air Supply etc,etc. But for this time, I will not miss this special concert of Alan's and its one of the Special Editions.

So the nite started out very well with clear bright sky and no haze. Thats a blessing especially when the concert was held in the open air of the stadium. The concert supposed to start at 8pm but as usual it will always be delay. But the audience dont have to wait too long and becoming too restless, unlike those local concerts when it can be delayed for hours. Just cud not understand what so great about this local singer where they need to delay their shows. Alan Tam was on stage by 8.30pm to greet about 10,000 of his fans, shouting and yelling his name.

He pushed out a high tempo song and also one of his golden hits to get the adrenalin pumping. Then he greeted the crowd saying that he was surprised to see a good mix of very young children, teenagers, young adults and middle age adults (like me) within the audience. That shows that he had a very good mix of fan base, where his songs are heard and enjoyed by loving or dating couples, and then when they got married and have children, their kids are being influenced and exposed to his songs. And still continued to have a good fan base of middle aged adults as they aged. A very good way to market himself.

Alan Tam is one great celebrity that can perform very well and have great showmanship on stage. He communicated with the audience very well getting them engaged in his performance. The concert was well equipped with a great backdrop and props, professional dancers and most of all the sound system was fantastic. That make the concert so much pump up. Everyone enjoy every single hits that he sang.

Songs after songs with a combination of sentimental and upbeat version, the nite almost comes to an end when he bidded goodbye with his so call last song of the evening at about 10.45pm. After he finished the song, he went back stage and in a usual high powered high adrenalin concert, the crowd was screaming for an "ENCORE". Nothing happens for about 2-3 mins, the stage was in darkness except for some dim lights and backgroud music. Then out of a sudden the tempo start to comeback and Alan Tam reappeared from a hydraulic stage moving vertically upwards. He is back to the stage (from the request of his fans) for the nite.

This time he was sing all his golden hits of yesteryears and that pushes the crowd to be even wilder. By now everyone were standing on the chairs, singing along, waving their hands high up in the air and in one song Alam Tam had requested every single one to light up the stadium with their mobilephones on. This had created a sky of white lights (like moving stars) waving from left to right as he sings. And this is what I called showmanship and a great celebrity.

The ENCORE goes on and eventually the nite have to come to an end. The last song that he wanted to say thank you and goodbye to his fans (or he always term it as his FRIENDS rather than his FANS). The non other than the famous song "PANG YAU" (Friends). I believe anyone who heard of Alan Tam will know this song. Practically everyone in the stadium sang their heart out. After that, it was followed by another golden hit and that was the finale. By now it was almost 12 mid-nite, and that was a 1-hour long encore. Amazing !!!

After that it was jam all the way, from coming out of the stadium and getting to the carpark and driving the car out of the carpark to the highway.

It was a nite to remember for everyone in the stadium......and till we meet again !!!!

Saucony Triumph 3

Took the Triumph 3 for a 20k run this morning. No breaking in at all since I got the shoe brand new yesterday from the local distributor. First impression of the shoe when I started running on it, hitting the tarmac was the shoe holds onto my feet very well. The cushioning was good with very good forefoot support. The support was firm and responsive, not stiff. Good stability control. Some runners may consider it stiff but I believe once the shoe clock a higher mileage, it shud be OK.

Secondly is the Arch Lock support around the midfoot area. It wraps around the foot very well to provide good support and control. The shoe doesnt seems to slip away from the feet eventhough I push hard and increase my pace.

Thirdly is the heel support provided by the SRC and the GRID system patented by Saucony. Although I am still running with a slight pain/injury on my left heel, the system had provisioned me a system to support my heel very well. I dont feel that I am aggravating the injury too much eventhough I am running at a fairly good pace.

I hope with higher mileage, the shoe will be even more responsive and the cushioning will perform better. As this is a brand new shoe and putting it to a 20k run, my verdict is that I have no complain at all with the performance. It can only get better. I will definitely give it a scorecard of 4 out of 5 (where 5 is the best)

Saucony Shoe Techonology

Getting into a Business Part 2

Remember my recent article about a dream, getting into the business of selling running shoes. Yes, I am one step nearer to becoming a dealer. At least a part time dealer (or Influencer as the local distributor called it) to start of with.















Yes the brand is SAUCONY (pronounced Sock-a-Knee)

My discussion with the local distributor went well today. We exchanged a lot of information on the technology and performance of Saucony, as well as the running shoes industry. This industry is totally different from the IT industry that I am in for the past 20 years. It is not as high volume as the FMCG but high volume enuf to sustain in a small industry in Malaysia.

My role is basically to market the Saucony brand for them. Whoever are interested, arrangements can be made to go to the warehouse and try out the various models. I did tried out a few of the mid and high end models. The shoes provide good support, stability and control. Anyway I cannot speak for all runners except that you have to try it out yourself. The price range are reasonable ie they are not cheap and either expensive. The quality of the entry model are not to bad either.

So for now, I will be putting together some marketing flyers and brochures. Will get it distribute around and hopefully hit the Pacesetters and other running communities moving forward. I should be able to extend at least 30% discount to interested parties and also Pacesetter members and if we are looking at volume, a higher discount is still negotiable. So I definitely need your support in trying out Saucony to give my business venture a good start and hopefully progressing slowly to better success.














My evaluation shoe for now is the Saucony Triumph 3 which I have managed to convince the distributor to offer me a real special price for me to try it out. It will be put on a trial run tomorrow in my LSD of between 20k to 25k. (depending on how bad the haze condition is) Lets see how this shoe will perform after my run and I will definite come out with a performance report. Watch out for it.

For those who are interested, drop me a comment and I will make arrangement for you to test out the respective models.

Have a good weekend......

MalaysiaKini Report

If you dont visit MalaysiaKini often.....

Haze: Ask Jakarta to Apologize Instead

Hazy Hazy Sky

Hazy hazy sky
How come you are here again
Have I told you to stay far far away
Hundred of miles from here
Hope your stay is short
Here is no place for you

What on earth is HAPPENING !!!!!

Blue Blue Sky

Blue blue sky
Bright sunshine
Big white clouds
Breezy wind
Blowing everywhere

At least the haze is gone today. I actually took an evening stroll today along the block of buildings where I work. Its been a while since we enjoy such bright sunny sky and breezy wind blowing across the streets. I pray this will continue.......